Jojo Rajkumari stole the headlines at Matrix Fight Night 9 in New Delhi after scoring an incredible knockout victory. Competing against Mary Jane Buna in a strawweight fight she secured the second win of her professional career with a savage overhand left.
The 23 year old is the first-ever pro female MMA fighter to hail from Manipur and is a four time national kickboxing champion. She had delivered her first pro win against Ishika Thite with an armbar submission at MFN 7 in December last year.
Buna came into the fight with an unblemished 3-0 record having made her pro debut in Chinese Taipei in 2019. But ‘The Visayan Fighter’ was in for a rude awakening in the Indian capital.
The 22 year old actually started brightly and caught her opponent with a pair of straight punches. But she was soon left flatlined on the canvas as Rajkumari motioned for a takedown before unleashing the overhand left which landed flush and knocked the Filipina out cold.
The win clearly meant the world to the victor who sold clothes and vegetables to make ends meet during the pandemic, and she celebrated wildly before draping herself in the Manipur flag. Her record climbs to 2-1. while Buna slips to 3-1.
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In the main event Seth Rosario faces Zahor Shah in a catchweight contest set at 165lbs and won by TKO in the opening round. The fight sparked a riot with the Afghans in the crowd believing the stoppage had occurred after the round had ended.
The fight was paused on two occasions with Shah warned for various fouls and eventually deducted a point. But the public timer was not adjusted to reflect these delays leading the Afghans in the crowd to believe the round had lasted more than five minutes.
A riot ensued and afterwards Ayesha Shroff, who is part of the promotional team, stated on Instagram that Matrix Fight Night would never feature an Afghan fighter again.
MFN 9 New Delhi, June 25th
Seth Rosario defeats Zahor Shah via TKO (Punches) at 4:36 of Round 1
Sanjeet Budhwar defeats Dorde Stojanovic via Decision (Unanimous)
Jojo Rajkumari defeats Mary Jane Buna via KO (Punch) at 0:36 of Round 1
Srikant Sekhar defeats Sumeet Khade via Submission (D’Arce Choke) at 1:58 of Round 2
Angad Bisht defeats Himanshu Kaushik via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:04 of Round 1
Puja Tomar defeats Tenzin Pema via TKO (Punches) at 0:20 of Round 1
Arsenba Ozukum defeats Bishwamitra via Decision (Unanimous)
Digamber Singh Rawat defeats Prakram Dandona via TKO (Punches) at 3:56 of Round 2
Imkongsunep Jamir defeats Kapil Kumar via TKO (Punches) at 4:25 of Round 2
Avizo Lanamai defeats Abhishek Negi via Unanimous Decision
